Political architecture — 2026-08
The presidential guard deposed President Mohamed Bazoum in July 2023 and established the Conseil national pour la sauvegarde de la patrie (CNSP) under General Abdourahamane Tiani. National Consultations ran in Niamey from 15 to 19 February 2025 with 716 delegates; on 26 March 2025 Tiani signed and promulgated a Charter of Refoundation replacing the constitution, was sworn in for a five-year transition, and all political parties were dissolved. The Charter names three institutions: the CNSP as guarantor of the transition, a Government of the Refoundation as the executive, and a Consultative Council of the Refoundation as its political advisory body. Unlike Mali's charter revision and Burkina Faso's assembly extension, this was presented as a founding document rather than an amendment — the transition is not framed as temporary at all.
The departure of Western forces — 2026-08
Niger expelled both of its principal Western security partners inside a year. The junta ordered US forces out in March 2024; withdrawal began on 19 May, American forces left Air Base 101 in Niamey on 7 July and Air Base 201 at Agadez on 5 August, and the process completed on the mutually agreed date of 15 September 2024. Air Base 201 had cost about US$110 million and was described by the US Air Force as the largest Air Force-led construction project in its history, built for drone operations and Nigerien force training. Russian trainers arrived at Air Base 101 in May 2024, while American troops were still present there.
Security posture — 2026-08
Pressures — 2026-08
Tillabéri recorded the highest number of civilian fatalities from attacks of any area in the central Sahel in 2025, and the reported perpetrator ranking places Islamic State Sahel first, the Nigerien military second and JNIM third — a state ranking above a jihadist coalition in killings of civilians on its own territory. The Benin border closure has cut the country's principal import route since July 2023. The uranium sector, its most valuable export, is in open legal conflict with its French operator and with an international tribunal. And on 29 August 2026 soldiers from units that had taken heavy casualties in the west attacked the capital.
The August 2026 mutiny — 2026-08-30
On 29–30 August 2026 mutinous soldiers attacked the Diori Hamani International Airport, the presidential palace, the state broadcaster and Base 101 — the air force base that hosts both the Russian Africa Corps and the AES joint command. State media described hundreds of disaffected soldiers; reporting indicates the mutineers included troops from Niamey and from Ouallam, Téra and Dosso, localities where the army has sustained heavy losses. Government forces retook Base 101; General Salifou Modi said on state television that the situation was under control, and dozens of soldiers were shown paraded afterwards. Casualty and arrest totals have not been established. Reporting attributes aerial and ground support to Russian Africa Corps personnel, but no official statement from either government has been identified, and Russian personnel were themselves reportedly captured during the attack. Vigil records the event and its ambiguities and draws no conclusion about what it demonstrates.
Elsewhere in Sahel
Last reviewed2026-08-30